Elite Receiver Recruit Zion Anderson Updates Summer Plans With USC Trojans

Long Beach Poly (Calif.) 2028 four-star athlete Zion Anderson visited USC back-to-back weeks in the spring and has scheduled a return visit for June 11.

Anderson spoke back in April about his experience at Southern Cal and why he wants to keep visiting the school.

USC Trojans Chad Savage Recruiting Class Summer Visit Zion Anderson Long Beach Poly Aaryn Washington Danny Lang Spring — Oct 21, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley watches from the sidelines against the Utah Utes in the first half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

“The love, it’s a lot of love up there,” Anderson said. “Everybody comes to talk to me. It’s a lot of different conversations. I get to meet new people, and I really like that up there.”

Anderson, the No. 167 overall prospect and No. 11 receiver according to ESPN, and No. 147 overall prospect and No. 7 receiver according to the Rivals Industry Rankings, plays his high school football roughly 20 miles away from campus.

The local two-way star is rated as an athlete but is being recruited as a receiver with USC.

Family Ties and Connections at USC

USC Trojans Recruiting Lincoln Riley Spring Practice Visit Gavin Williams Trent Mosley Deshonne Redeaux Luke Wafle RJ Sermons — 2028 Long Beach Poly (Calif.) four-star athlete Zion Anderson | 2028 Long Beach Poly (Calif.) four-star athlete Zion Anderson

When Anderson visited the Trojans in the spring, he was accompanied by his head coach and uncle, Travon Patterson, who played receiver at USC from 2006-2009.

“My uncle went and had a career there, so that’s where my family always pushes me to go,” Anderson said.

Patterson is not the only family connection Anderson has with his hometown school. His cousin is IMG Academy (Fla.) 2027 four-star cornerback and Trojans commit Aaryn “J.O.” Washington, and he is also close with Mater Dei (Calif.) four-star cornerback commit Danny Lang from their days playing youth football.

Anderson has taken notice of Southern Cal's recent recruiting surge with local prospects and there's two players in particular for the 2026 class that he is keeping an eye on, four-star receivers Trent Mosley and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Anderson revealed that he watches a ton of film of the two freshmen wideouts to study their games.

The four-star recruit first got to know inside receivers/tight ends coach Chad Savage at camp when he was on the Colorado State coaching staff and has built a good relationship with him at USC.

“Coach Savage wants to develop his players,” Anderson said. “He really wants to know you on a deeper level other than football. He wants to develop me as a man outside of football and on the field.”

Anderson is one of several highly touted prospects from across the country that is set to workout in front of the Trojans coaching staff next week as the program will begin to shift its focus to the 2028 class this summer.

Long Beach Poly to USC Pipeline

Long Beach Poly was once a recruiting pipeline for the Trojans, producing players such as former All-American linebacker and three-time Super Bowl champion Willie McGinest in the early 1990s. Former All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jurrell Casey and All-American safety Darnell Bing came from Poly.

More recently, former USC All-American and Pro Bowl receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and All-Conference cornerback Iman Marshall were key fixtures of a Trojans team that won the Rose Bowl in 2016.

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